“Identical sequences of DNA located at completely different places on multiple plant genomes”

“Our algorithm found identical sequences of DNA located at completely different places on multiple plant genomes,” said Dmitry Korkin, lead author and assistant professor of computer science.

The genomes of six animals (dog, chicken, human, mouse, macaque and rat) were compared to each other. Likewise, six plant species (Arabidopsis, soybean, rice, cottonwood, sorghum and grape) were compared to each other. Comparing all the genetic sequences took 4 weeks with 48 computer processors doing 1 million searches per hour for a grand total of approximately 32 billion searches.

Although the scientists found identical sequences between plant species, just as they did between animals, they suggested the sequences evolved differently.

“You would expect to see convergent evolution, but we don’t,” Conant said. “Plants and animals are both complex multi-cellular organisms that have to deal with many of the same environmental conditions, like taking in air and water and dealing with weather variations, but their genomes code for solutions to these challenges in different ways.”